Festival Hall demolition paves way for new leisure centre car park in Kirkby

Ashfield Council says that work to demolish the Festival Hall is now under way, with many of the materials recycled.

The new car park on Hodgkinson Road will be for the adjacent Kirkby Leisure Centre – which has replaced Festival Hall – and will have spaces for 95 cars, 10 cycle hoops, and lockable cycle storage.

Work on the car park should be completed by spring 2023.

Robert Docherty, council director for place and communities, said: “The work to create the new car park at Kirkby Leisure Centre will mark the completion of this superb facility.”

Festival Hall opened in the 1930s, but a public consultation in August 2016 on the future of the town’s leisure services resulted in a “strong message of support from the public for investment in new sport and leisure facilities”.

Work on the new Kirkby Leisure Centre started in December 2020 and it opened in August 2022 as part of the council’s £15.5 million investment to transform leisure facilities.

The main element of the demolition will last about 12 weeks and works will be carried out during the core hours of 8am and 6pm.

Andy Sollis, a Sutton resident, said: “I have some great memories of that place over the years. I attended award ceremonies for the cub scouts, went to remembrance festivals with the air cadets, pantomimes, birthday parties, and lastly toy and train fairs with my own kids.

“It has served the community well. It will be sad to see it go along with the wonderful painting on the back wall. It’s a shame that this wasn’t incorporated into the new build rather than losing this history - especially when it’s still fit for purpose.”

Daryl Lees, of Kirkby, said: “Someone mentioned it is just an old sports complex, but that is only its modern, current history.

“In the past, it hosted shows, events, theatre, film, carnivals and pageants, everything that a town was.

“All too often, buildings in Kirkby have been removed for regeneration, cutting the town of its history and culture and place in the world. It is sad that modernisation and regeneration have to destroy the heart and soul of a town's heritage to progress in the world.”